Entrance myths

I keep reading letters to the editor which dispute the fact that there will be additional stoplights with the straight shot. The fact is, that there WILL be a stoplight put in at 7th and Main St.

Common sense demands a light there since that is where all the Cemetery Lane, W/J, Starwood and McClain Flats residents will enter the highway. That is a NEW stoplight, although it would not be “additional” IF the one on Cemetery Lane is abolished.

I’ve been trying to drive the entrance/exit as much as possible lately to see the flow of traffic. The stoplights cause more traffic backup than the S-curves, as you can see from photos on http://www.scurves4aspen.com.

If the stoplight simply moves a couple of blocks, how will that help traffic flow? It will be no different, except that people entering town will be stuck in a closed-in tunnel instead of out in the open air with a view.

There is no indication that our bridges are not safe and I resent straight shot proponents continuing to bring this up. Do you really believe that the CDOT would leave unsafe bridges on its highway?

The reason that they may not be replaced for some time is that they are fine and CDOT isn’t going to spend the money if there is no need.

Recommended Stories For You

There are not more fender-benders on the S-curves than anywhere else on Highway 82. That is absurd. Cars, if going as slow as Richie Cohen says, would be hard-pressed to be running into each other. Can you remember the last time you saw a photo of a fender bender on the S-curves in the newspaper?

Keeping the S-curves does not “terminate” any plan for the future of Aspen’s traffic problems. That’s ridiculous. New technology will most likely give us solutions in the future.

If light rail is ever supported by our community (the ultimate solution) it could certainly get a narrow right of way across the Marolt Open Space without adding more asphalt on our open space.